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CompletedNCT01378325Updated Aug 26, 2014Results posted

Variable Rate Phenylephrine Infusion for Prevention of Spinal-induced Hypotension for Cesarean Delivery

A Phase 4 interventional study of Phenylephrine and saline in Anesthetic Complication Spinal, sponsored by American University of Beirut Medical Center. Completed. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 50 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2014-08-26.

Sponsored by American University of Beirut Medical Center · Phase 4, Interventional, and Prevention

Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
80
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 50 Years
Sex
Female
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Study summary

Rapid administration of crystalloid immediately after induction of spinal anesthesia (coload) to be more effective in terms of managing hypotension as compared to administering crystalloid before spinal anesthesia (preload).

Phenylehrine infusion is a safe and effective way to reduce incidence and frequency of hypotension during SA for cesarean delivery. Hypotension was virtually eliminated by use of high-dose prophylactic phenylephrine infusion at a rate of 100 µg/min and rapid crystalloid coload up to two liters (administration at the time of SA). However, incidence of reactive hypertension was frequent up to 47% with decrease in maternal heart rate (HR). This may raise concern in patients in whom increase of blood pressure may be detrimental, like chronic hypertension and in the presence of a compromised uteroplacental blood flow. A recent study found that infusing phenylephrine at a fixed rate of 75 and 100 ug/min is associated with more episodes of hypertension than placebo or the lower infusion rates of 25 and 50 ug/min respectively. However, there was no reduction in the number of physician interventions (phenylephrine boluses and stopping the infusion) needed to maintain maternal systolic blood pressure within 20% of baseline among all groups. Prophylactic fixed rate infusions may have limited application in clinical practice, and a variable rate (i.e. modifying the rate according to hemodynamics) has been advocated. The bolus administration of phenylephrine to treat hypotension is still commonly used, but requests multiple interventions from the anesthesiologists and is time consuming.

Eighty patients scheduled for cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia will be assigned to one of two groups. Immediately after spinal injection, rapid crystalloid colaod of lactated Ringer of 15 mL/kg over a period of 10-15 min will be initiated. Patients in Group I will receive infusion of normal saline (placebo) and patients in group II variable infusion rate of phenylephrine started at 0.75 ug/kg (close to the dose of 50 ug/min recommended for fixed infusion rate). The number of interventions needed to maintain maternal systolic blood pressure within 20% of baseline, hemodynamic performance, intraoperative nausea and vomiting, and umbilical cord blood gases will be compared between the two groups.

We will define a reliable and safe method to ensure maternal hemodynamic stability during spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery with the least physician interference.

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Conditions studied

  • Anesthetic Complication Spinal

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Keywords

  • spinal
  • cesarean delivery
  • phenylephrine
  • hypotension
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In context

Hypotension

1,003 studies on the registry are indexed under Hypotension; 173 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 80 is close to the median of 80 across 675 interventional studies indexed under Hypotension.

Browse Hypotension studies →

Lead sponsor

American University of Beirut Medical Center is the lead sponsor of 152 studies on the registry; 27 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 50 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Parturients beyond 37 weeks gestation
  • ASA І or ІІ

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • pregnancy-induced hypertension
  • chronic hypertension
  • multiple pregnancy
  • fetal compromise
  • diabetes mellitus
  • polyhydramnios
  • body weight >100 kg
  • major systemic disease
  • anemia (hemoglobin concentration\<10 g/dl)
  • clotting diathesis
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Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
80 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Phenylephrine

    PHenylephrine infusion started at 0.75 microgram per kg per mL started at spinal injection till delivery

    Drug: Phenylephrine

  • Placebo comparator
    Saline

    Prophylactic variable rate of saline infusion where we adjusted the pump at a starting rate of 0.75 µg/kg/min, equivalent to 0.0075 mL/kg/min of saline

    Drug: saline

Interventions

  • DrugPhenylephrine

    Prophylactic variable rate of phenylephrine infusion started at 0.75 µg/kg/min vs saline

    Also known as: Neosynephrine

  • Drugsaline

    Prophylactic variable rate of saline infusion where we adjusted the pump at a starting rate of 0.75 µg/kg/min, equivalent to 0.0075 mL/kg/min of saline

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of Physician Interventions Needed to Maintain Maternal Blood Pressure After Spinal Anesthesia Within 20% of Baseline and to Treat Bradycardia During Cesarean Delivery.

    Physician interventions are triggered by hemodynamic changes more than 20% of baseline. The intervention can be one or more of the following: * stopping the phenylephrine infusion * changing the rate of phenylephrine infusion * rescue intravenous bolus of phenylephrine (100 µg) for hypotension * rescue intravenous bolus of atropine (0.4 mg) for bradycardia

    Time frame: Patients will be followed up throughout the Cesarean delivery (average of 1.5 hours).

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Results

Posted Aug 26, 2014

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestonePhenylephrineSaline
Started4040
Completed4039
Not completed01
Withdrew: Protocol violation01

Outcome measures

PrimaryNumber of Physician Interventions Needed to Maintain Maternal Blood Pressure After Spinal Anesthesia Within 20% of Baseline and to Treat Bradycardia During Cesarean Delivery.

Physician interventions are triggered by hemodynamic changes more than 20% of baseline. The intervention can be one or more of the following: * stopping the phenylephrine infusion * changing the rate of phenylephrine infusion * rescue intravenous bolus of phenylephrine (100 µg) for hypotension * rescue intravenous bolus of atropine (0.4 mg) for bradycardia

Time frame:
Patients will be followed up throughout the Cesarean delivery (average of 1.5 hours).
Reported as:
Median · number of interventions
Number of Physician Interventions Needed to Maintain Maternal Blood Pressure After Spinal Anesthesia Within 20% of Baseline and to Treat Bradycardia During Cesarean Delivery.
number of interventionsPhenylephrineSaline
Number of Physician Interventions Needed to Maintain Maternal Blood Pressure After Spinal Anesthesia Within 20% of Baseline and to Treat Bradycardia During Cesarean Delivery.0 (0 to 6)3 (0 to 9)

Adverse events

Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Saline—0/39 (0%)0/39 (0%)
Phenylephrine—0/40 (0%)0/40 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

with β of 0.2 and α of 0.05 and two-sided test for comparing two means (http://www.stat.ubc.ca/\~rollin/stats/ssize/n2.html), the calculated number of patients was 37 in each group.

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)SalinePhenylephrineTotal
Mean33.5 ± 532.5 ± 533 ± 5
Sex/Gender, Customized
Sex/Gender, Customized(participants)SalinePhenylephrineTotal
Number of Female Participants394079
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Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 26, 2014, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01378325
Lead sponsor
American University of Beirut Medical Center
Responsible party
Sahar Sayyid (anesthesia, American University of Beirut Medical Center) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jun 22, 2011
Start date
Jul 2012
Primary completion
Jan 2013
Completion
Jan 2013
Results posted
Aug 26, 2014
Last update
Aug 26, 2014

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2014. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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